Krystal
Moria
Simona
- “Each day his flattery makes us eat a toad” literally means that flattery causes us to consume things which are bad for us. This is a phrase which symbolizes the demon inside of every person which controls us like a puppet master, pulling our strings, causing us to make bad decisions which lead us to a dark place.
Each day refers not to literally every waking moment, but to many circumstances in life where flattery, in the literal sense can feed one’s ego, and cause him to perform a myriad of wrongdoings. Flattery may also be translated as the devil himself, who as a puppet master, and a master of evil inclinations, controls us by pulling our puppet strings, causing us to think, say or do things which are misguided. The toad symbolizes the evil deeds. As a whole, this phrase means that the devil is infecting us with evil impulses, every day.
Through this interpretation can be applied to today’s society. In which flattery can make someone’s ego grow bigger and bigger. Those are the consequences that come out of flattery to someone. Even though some people might see it as compliments to other and helping them build their confidence up, it also can bring out negativity and make their ego grow. For example, Donald Trump who is running for Presidency in 2016, from the republican side, already has an ego and thinks he is better than everyone else. When the media continues to cover him, continues to report about his growing numbers at the polls, which feeds into his ego. That flattery consumes him into becoming even more than what he already is. Each person has a dark side, and flattery is an aspect that can pull out that bad side out of them and show their true colors.
- “Gangs of demons are boozing in our brain”
The denotative meaning of this would be that there are literally mob of demons swarming inside our heads. This figuratively means that our evil inclinations are so ample and can influence our ability to make rational decisions.
Gangs are known for being destructive and taking over towns that they enter and they accomplish this by coming in large packs. When we think of a “gang of demons” taking over a brain, we think of something negatively influencing our thought processes. The boozing symbolizes that the gangs of demons are filling our heads entirely. We were able to come up with this interpretation because demons are malignant spirits. If one has taken over your brain it becomes like a cancer and this cancer will slowly deteriorate your ability to make proper decisions.
This is relevant to today’s society with regard to social media. Usually a gang is made up of a large number of people, who are united for the same mission. Social media can be described as a gang of demon where people are influenced by it so much that they start believing stuff just because other people support it. It doesn’t necessarily mean that it is true or that it stands for a good cause. Social media can manipulate things and actually make them worse they what they already are. People already have a hard time making decision, so when they a majority of people on Twitter spreading something they go ahead and agree with it, thinking it is right. Our judgments are clouded because of how social media manipulates things.
8 responses so far ↓
k.matthes // Oct 16th 2015 at 6:23 pm
I think your relation to gangs and social media is very interesting and I, personally, would have never thought to make a connection between the two. When I read the first sentence, I thought that you would relate gangs and social media in a sense of cyber bullying but I think your comparison to the influence it has on other aspects is much more interesting. Social media really does influence the public greatly, whether the things that are posted are true or not. I think that social media could be considered the most time consuming and addicting aspect of life today. Therefore, it could absolutely be considered a demon or a gang, because it takes away time from other important things in life. I have not read this poem so I am not quite sure what these demons are referring to specifically, but I also thought it was interesting that you related the demons to a cancer, considering cancer is not a bacteria or infection. Cancer is, in a way, a mutation of oneself and not cause by an outside intruder, so this can conclude that these demons are somewhat created by the person who they’re living in.
aj166127 // Oct 16th 2015 at 10:14 pm
I really like the connections you guys made to relate to today’s society. The Donald Trump ego thing has me laughing because its so true. If only he could read this. On a more serious note I love the gang and social media connection. I’m very anti social media and most people aren’t. Its very refreshing to read and know that other people see the manipulation stemming from social media.
j.mireles // Oct 16th 2015 at 10:31 pm
I can relate a lot to the first section, “the demon inside every person which controls us like a puppet master” for instance, being on that relationship that feels good but deep inside you know it’s bad for you or that its technically not heading anywhere. That remark can be tied to the way we make decisions.
The connection that you guys made with Gangs is important for a person to understand because there’s other versions of it like: that lazy friend has no aspirations and typically will try to hold you back from your goals or that family member that constantly puts you down and only brings negativity.
v.barreras // Oct 17th 2015 at 1:49 am
I don’t know if I would see flattery has a negative thing but I see what you are saying about how it can build someones ego. Another example of this would be when people become famous. When celebrities build fans and net worth they often think that they can do and say whatever they please without worrying who they may be influencing. (e.g. Kim K., Kayne, Miley Cyrus)
I really liked how you compared social media to your interpretation of a gang. It is true that social media often allows groups of people to band together on similar issues. Social media also does play a huge role in making believe everything they see. People often see something on Facebook and will swear that it is true without have anything else to back it up.
e.rospide // Oct 17th 2015 at 2:10 am
I am not sure if I agree with the entire first analysis of the statement “Each day his flattery makes us eat a toad”. I do agree that there are demons inside all of us that can persuade us to make horrid decisions.However, I don’t think this line means flattery in the literal sense. I think it’s referring to invitation by the devil to our temptations. As we indulge in our temptations, our demons become harder to suppress. As we succumb to the influence of our demons, the closer and closer to what ever we consider hell. But, I do believe we have control over these demons, they aren’t initially puppet masters. They only become that when we allow them to fester for a while without any limitations.
NATALIA MALAVER // Oct 17th 2015 at 11:47 am
I really like the key phrases you chose. The first one “Each day his flattery makes us eat a toad” makes me think of how even though a toad is not something we’d normally eat, we eat it as a temptation from the devil, and by doing that we keep feeding him the ego that he could control us more and more, thus making it harder for us to stop being “fed” by him.
For the second phrase, I fully agree with you. By comparing demons with gangs, he is trying to say that once you’re in that state of boredom and give up fully living your life, then you can’t go back.
JMERLE // Oct 17th 2015 at 1:47 pm
Krystal, Moria, Simona,
The two phrases that you choose to discuss are well described, and I like how you connect both to our own world. You touch on a couple of important ideas, flattery and bad influences, and you discuss these both nicely. I wanted, however, you to discuss a variety of words/phrases, in different places in the poem, and to then decided on an overall interpretation. Think about this, okay? We’ll then discuss this poem again as a class.
Grade: 8/10
k.vataj // Oct 17th 2015 at 1:57 pm
I wrote you an email as well. “Moria” is Chaya on the roster, I wrote out Moria because thats what she said to be called in the beginning of the semester, I apologize.